Warning! Spoilers ahead for Darth Vader #10 from Greg Pak and Raffaele Ienco
Has Marvel Comics taken Darth Vader too far in his latest Star Wars comics series? In Marvel's newly released solicitations, an upcoming issue of Darth Vader seems to hint that the Dark Lord may be getting a soft reboot which may scale him back from his current rage and desires for revenge against his master Darth Sidious.
In recent comics, Vader has been put through an intense gauntlet of trials and trauma after The Empire Strikes Back as punishment from his master. Now, Vader wishes nothing more than to learn his master's secrets before killing Palpatine. However, this is is a pretty drastic demeanor and personality when compared to the one Vader holds in Return of the Jedi before being redeemed by Luke, which is why Vader himself may literally get reset.
Marvel Comics' latest Darth Vader series comes from writer Greg Pak with art by Raffaele Ienco, which began by having the Dark Lord ignoring the summons of his master after his son Luke rejected him during the events of Empire Strikes Back. Instead, Vader ventured into the past, investigating the specifics behind the death of his late wife Padmé. However, all Vader found was turmoil upon hearing her final words, as she believed that there was still good in him with her last breath. Naturally, this left Vader incredibly unbalanced in the dark side of the Force, leading the Emperor to punish his wayward apprentice by breaking down his cybernetic limbs and dumping him on the same lava river bank where he found Vader, forcing him to survive on his own in order to reignite his connection to the dark side.
Now, Vader has been fighting to survive without the dark side of the Force, facing down several threats such as the Sith assassin Ochi of Bestoon and the Eye of Webbish Bog, who gives him a Sith Wayfinder that will lead Vader to the Emperor's secrets on Exegol, the same planet where Kylo Ren discovers the Emperor in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Likewise, the end of the most recent issue saw Vader crash-landing on Exegol, using his hatred and rage towards the Emperor in order to reignite his connection to the dark side. Using the Force, Vader forces a massive, mind-breaking Summa-Verminoth monster to submit to his will, which he then rides to the nearby temple that supposedly carries Palpatine's secrets. However, a new solicitation could be teasing that the Emperor may attempt to remove Vader's desire for revenge against him in Darth Vader #12.
- STAR WARS: DARTH VADER #12
- GREG PAK (W)
- GUIU VILANOVA (A)
- Cover by AARON KUDER
- EMPIRE STRIKES BACK VARIANT COVER BY CHRIS SPROUSE
- PRELUDE TO WAR OF THE BOUNTY HUNTERS: “RESTORATION”
- Returned to the fold after his rebellion against the EMPEROR, DARTH VADER faces the horrors of reconstruction in the secret laboratories of CORUSCANT.
- As he blacks out under the knife, does he still dream of revenge against his master? Or do his thoughts drift towards his son – and the friends who make LUKE SKYWALKER so vulnerable? Don’t miss this next critical new chapter in Vader’s ongoing evolution - featuring the revelation of the first time the Dark Lord learned the name HAN SOLO!
Not only will this issue serve as a prelude to Marvel's War of the Bounty Hunters crossover event, but Vader will apparently be undergoing surgery on Coruscant, presumedly to repair the damage his master inflicted upon him for his punishment. However, the synopsis also questions whether or not Vader will still dream of his desire for revenge against Palpatine. Seeking revenge is not something a Sith gives up easily, least of all Darth Vader. Is it possible that the Emperor may attempt to erase portions of Vader's memory in order to reset him back to a more subservient apprentice? Regardless, Star Wars fans will no doubt know more when Darth Vader #12 comes to comic book store shelves this May from Marvel Comics.